The United States commercial truck tire market remains in a state of “flux,” says Dan Funkhouser, Yokohama Tire Corp.’s vice president of commercial sales.
“Trucking, like every other industry, had to make changes in order to limit the impact of the (COVID-19) pandemic,” he says. “Some of those, such as the use of technology to communicate, will remain and help in the future. Others, like the driver shortage, which existed before the pandemic, continue to cause issues.”
Funkhouser says Yokohama has “adjusted very well to the post-pandemic world. We embraced on-line meeting techniques and evaluated travel policies to make sure we are as efficient as possible in how we go to market and service our channel partners.
“Our team was out in the field, where possible, the entire time. We focused on remaining close to customers and end-users and did not slow down on new product introductions.”
Yokohama displayed several of those products – including the 114R, a recently unveiled tire for regional haul and spread axle applications; the 716 UWB wide-base tire; and the 121T, a regional trailer tire - during the recent TMC Show in Orlando, Fla.
The company “continues to see double-digit growth” on a year-over-year basis in its wide base tire business. As demand grows, “our servicing dealer and truck stop providers are keeping more product in inventory to ensure” that fleet customers’ needs are met.
Funkhouser also says that Yokohama’s commercial truck tire manufacturing plant in West Point, Miss., “set new production standards in 2022 in volume and quality. This momentum will carry into 2023 and beyond and help us launch new products faster.”
